Posthole boring machine



Sept. 19, 1950 l. w. TALBOT 2,522,843

POSTHOLE BORING MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 and Waxy 8 M5 l. W. TALBOT POSTHOLE BORING MACHINE Sept. 19, 1950 Filed Sept. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I n renter Se t. 19, 1950 I. w. TALBOT 2,522,343

' POSTHOLE BORING MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 111 z'entor frvz'n M7Z/5of By wan/54'6" my EMIQ S Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,522,848 POSTHOLE BORING MACHINE Irvin W. Talbot, RushHill, Mo.

Application September 21, 1946, Serial No. 698,592

This invention relates to post hole boring machines,and' has more particular reference to a post hole boring attachment for tractors.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an attachment of the above kind which is extremely simple and durable in construction, highly efficient in operation, easy and economical to manufacture and install, conveniently manipula'ble from the drivers station of the tractor, and otherwise well adapted to meet with requirements for successful commercial use.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the above kind adapted to be mounted upon the side of a tractor at which the transverse power take-off shaft of the latter is located and in a position directly in front of the adjacent rearwheel of the tractor, said attachnient including an auger shaft provided with driving mechanism, and means. for operatively connecting said driving mechanism with said power take-01f shaft.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in an attachment of the above kind, novel means for manually moving the auger shaft longitudinally to raise and lower the auger, and for tilting the auger shaft and the auger longitudinally of the tractor so that holes maybe selectively bored vertically and at different inclinations, said means being conveniently operable from the drivers station of the tractor.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a tractor equipped with a post hole boring attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2, and partly broken away, the auger shaft being partially lowered from the position of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the upper portion of the post which carries means for raising and lowering the auger shaft, and

Figure 5 is a side elevational View of the post which carries the means for raising and lowering the auger shaft.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 indicates a conventional tractor having-a transverse power ,take-off shaft 6 equipped with a pulley 1, and

1 Claim. (Cl. 255--19) 2 having the usual front and rear traction and steering wheels, one of each of which is respectively indicated at 8 and 9. As usual, the driver's station is at the rear portion of thetractor, and driving of the power take-off shaft 6 is controlled from the drivers station by conventional means, not shown.

l The illustrated embodiment of the invention includes a supportingjbracket composed of'spaced vertical bars l0 rigidly secured by suitable means to that side of the tractor frame at which the power take-off shaft 6 is located and in a position between the rear and front wheels 8 and 9 at the side of the tractor, a horizontal U- shaped frame member ll having its ends secured to the upper ends of the bars In by bolts [2 or the like, and injclined braces l3 between the outer portions of, the legs of said .U-shaped member i I an lower portions of the bars Ill. The meansfor securing the bars ll! to the tractor inoludes nutted bolts M passed through the bars-l 0 and the adjacent side frame rail ofthe tractor chassis, and it will be 'seen that the frame member I l is rigidly mountied on and projects laterally from the tractor at a point a short distanceinifront of the adjacent rear traction wheel 8 and the power take-off pulley 1 of the tractor.

A cross-piece l5 connects thelegs of the U- aligned stub shafts l1 and H3 at opposite sides thereof which are respectively journalled in the intermediate portion of the member II and in the intermediate portion of the cross-piece 15. The stub shaft I 8 is tubular, and a transverse driven shaft I9 extends axially through and is journalled in said stub shaft I8. An elongated substantially upright auger shaft 20 is disposed at right angles to the driven shaft [9 and is rotatable in and longitudinally slidable through the housing [6. -Bevel gearing is provided between the shafts I9 and 26 including a pinion 2| secured on the outer end of shaft l9 and a gear .22 in which the auger shaft 2% is slidably keyed,

the pinion 2| and gear 22 being in meshtvith each other and arranged within the housing l6 so that the gear 22 is restrained against movement other than rotation. A pulley 23 issecured on the inner end of shaft l9;- and it will thus be seen that mechanism is provided for rotatably driving the auger shaft 20. The pu liey 23 is operatively connected with the power takeoff pulley 1 of the tractor by means of an endless power transmission belt 24 passing around said pulleys. An auger 25 is attached to the lower end of the auger shaft 28 beneath the housing I6, and it will be seen that bymoving the auger shaft longitudinally, the auger may be raised or lowered to withdraw it from the hole bored in the ground by said auger or to feed the auger downwardly during the boring operation. It will also be apparent that by journalling the shafts I1 and I8 in the frame member H and cross-piece l5, the housing I6 may be tilted upon a transverse horizontal axis to tilt the auger shaft 28 and the auger 25 longitudinally of the tractor so that holes may be bored in the ground vertically or at any one of a number of different inclinations.

A post 26 is rigid with and projects upwardly from the top of the housing l6, and means is carried by said post and manually operable from the drivers station of the tractor for tilting the housing l6 and for raising and lowering the auger shaft 28. As shown in Figure 5, the post 26 is composed of a pair of spaced parallel elongated bar members 21 rigidly connected at spaced points by means of integral connecting webs 28. The upper ends of the bar members 21 are provided with open longitudinal elongated slots 29, and fixed to the outer sides of said bar members 21 at points directly beneath the slots 29 are angle brackets 30 having vertical adjusting screws 3| threaded through the upper horizontal portions thereof. A sprocket wheel 32 is disposed between the upper ends of the members 21 and rotatably mounted upon the intermediate portion of a transverse axle 33 whose ends are vertically movable in the slots 29 and rest upon the adjusting screws 3|. Another sprocket wheel 34 is disposed between the lower end portions of members 21 and secured on a transverse shaft 35 which is journalled in horizontally aligned openings of the members 21. One end of shaft 35 projects forwardly of post 26 and has a second sprocket wheel 36 secured thereon. ,At a point intermediate the ends of the rear post member 21 and above the shaft 35, said rear post member21 is formed with an opening and a sleeve member 31. An'operating shaft 38 has its forward end portion journalled in the sleeve 31 and in the post members 21, and a sprocket wheel 39 is secured on the forward end of. the shaft 38 in alignment with the sprocket wheel 36. A drive chain 40 passes around the sprocket wheels 36 and 39, and the shaft 38 extends rearwardly to a point beside the drivers station of the tractor where it is equipped with an operating wheel or handle 4 I, Passing about the sprocket wheels 32 and 34 is a further endless sprocket chain 42 having an angle bracket 43 fixed to the outer portion of the same. The auger shaft 20 has a reduced upper end portion which rotatably extends through the bracket 43, and said bracket 43 is retained on this reduced end of auger shaft 20 between thrust bearings 44 by means of a nut 45 threaded on the reduced end portion of shaft 28 above the upper one of said bearings 44. It will thus be apparent that the auger shaft 20 may freely revolve in the bracket 43, and by causing traveling movement of chain 42, the auger shaft may be moved longitudinally so as to raise or lower the auger 25. The chain 42 may be caused to travel in either direction by turning of shaft 38 in the proper direction 4|, motion being transmitted from shaft 38 to shaft 35 by means of the sprocket gearing 36, 39, 4D and rotation of shaft 35 causing rotation of sprocket wheel 34 and driving of said chain 42. It will be apparent that by pressing upwardly or downwardly on the hand wheel 4|, the shaft 38 may be tilted upwardly or down wardly so as to correspondingly tilt the housing l6 and thereby position the auger 25 vertically or at the desired forward or rearward inclination. By adjusting screws 3 I, the axle 33 may be moved away from shaft 35 to compensate for wear and thereby maintain the chain 42 in a proper taut condition.

In operation, the tractor is stopped with the auger 25 located above the point at which it is desired to bore a hole. The driver then engages the drive to the power take-off pulley 1 from the tractor engin by conventional means, thus causing rotation of the auger. The auger gravitates to and normally assumes a vertical position, and if it is desired to bore the hole at an inclination, the auger is properly tilted by swinging the shaft 38 upwardly or downwardly as desired. The auger is then lowered by rotating shaft 38 in the proper direction to cause downward travel of that portion of chain 42 to which the auger shaft 26 is connected. 'This downward feeding movement of the auger is continued as the boring operation proceeds. When the hole has been bored to the proper depth, rotation of the auger may be discontinued and shaft 38 is then turned in the opposite direction to elevate the auger from the hole and to a point above the ground surface. By providing manually operable means for lowering the auger and feeding it into the ground as the boring operation proceeds, the rate of feed may be varied or regulated according to the hardness of the ground and so as to not overload and damage the auger. It will also be apparent that the construction involves a readily manipulable single operating element for both tilting the auger and raising or lowering the latter. The handle M is grasped to hold the auger in the desired position until it has started to enter the ground, whereupon said handle may be released so far asupward or downward pressure thereon is concerned. After the auger has been withdrawn from the hole and elevated above the ground surface, the tractor is driven forward to the next point at which a hole is to be bored. It will be apparent that the auger is tiltable to also permit vertical positioning of the same even though the tractor be standing on a slope.

It will be seen that a simple and rugged post hole boring attachment for tractors has been provided which may be readily manipulated by a tractor driver for full control of the boring operation and the angle of the hole bored, without the necessity of the driver leaving his normal operating station on the tractor.

Modifications and changes in details of construction illustrated and described, are contemplated, such as fall within the scope of the invention as claimed, a

What I claim as my invention is:

In combination with a tractor having a frame, front steering wheels, rear traction wheels, and

a projecting transverse power take-ofi shaft at one side, a post hole boring attachment including spaced vertical bars rigidly secured to and projecting upwardly from the side of the tractor frame in front of the power take-ofi, shaft and between the reap-wheel at one side of the tractor and the front steering wheels, a horizontal U-shaped frame member having its ends secured to the upper ends of said vertical bars, inclined braces between the outer portions of the legs of said U-shaped frame member and the lower portions of said vertical bars, a cross piece connecting the legs of said U-shaped frame member, a gear housing arranged within said U-shaped frame member and journaled at opposite sides in the latter and said cross piece to freely tilt about a horizontal axis transverse to the tractor, a transverse driven shaft journaled between its ends in the inner side of said gear housing and having a pinion secured on the outer end thereof within the gear housing, a driving connection between the inner end of said driven shaft and the power take-off shaft, a horizontal bevel gear disposed within the gear housing and above and in mesh with said pinion, an upright shaft journaled in and longitudinally slidable through said gear housing and slidably keyed in said bevel gear, an auger attached at its upper end to the lower end of said upright shaft, a post rigid with and projecting upwardly from the gear housing at the inner side of the upper portion of said upright shaft, sprocket wheels journaled on and located at the top and bottom of said post, an endless sprocket chain passing about said sprocket wheels,

a bracket fixed to said sprocket chain and having the upper end of said upright shaft swivelled therein, a single rigid operating shaft disposed longitudinally of the tractor and journaled at its forward end in said post, a handle on the rear end of said operating shaft, and a driving connection between the forward end of said operating shaft and the sprocket wheel at the bottom of said post, said operating shaft being bodily movable up and down to tilt the auger to forwardly or rearwardly inclined positions and being rotatable to raise and lower the auger.

IRVIN W. TALBOT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,369,941 Smith Mar. 1, 1921 1,504,441 Gehrandt Aug. 12, 1924 2,384,557 Piper Sept. 11, 1945 2,399,190 Kelly Apr. 30, 1946 2,400,478 Beck May 21, 1946 2,411,627 Jacques Nov. 26, 1946 

